Mill Valley football improved 鈥榚very single week鈥� on way to 3-peat
SHAWNEE, Kan. (BVM) 鈥� Every high school football season is unique and the process of putting together a championship team is never easy, even for the most consistently successful programs.聽
The Mill Valley Jaguars entered the 2021 season with an established tradition of success, having claimed back-to-back Class 5A state championships and four state titles in six years, but even they had a lot to learn about themselves before they could make a run at a three-peat this fall. That became apparent after a 41-20 blowout loss to Lawrence Free State on Oct. 1.
鈥淥bviously you never want to lose, but you can learn a lot from losing,鈥� Mill Valley head coach Joel Applebee said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the approach we took as a coaching staff and our kids took as well. We made some minor changes where kids were fitting into different positions and we made a few adjustments that were going to help us a little bit more both offensively and defensively and once we did that we really felt like we had people in the right position to do the things we wanted to do.鈥�
With all the right pieces in the right places after that Week 5 loss, the Jaguars didn鈥檛 lose a game the rest of the season as they captured their third consecutive state title and their fifth in seven years.
鈥淚 felt like we just got better and better every single week,鈥� Applebee said. 鈥淵ou never want to lose, but (after that game) we really made some adjustments that really helped us in the end to get where we wanted to go.鈥�
Mill Valley was ranked No. 1 for the entirety of the 2020 season and was favored to win a second straight state title with a talented senior class leading the way. This year鈥檚 squad didn鈥檛 come into the season with as much experience as last year鈥檚, but the talent was there and Applebee was confident that, although it might take some time, it was a group that had the potential to keep the Jaguars on top.
鈥淲hether it was seniors, juniors, sophomores that were filling in positions, I really liked what we had. We knew that they were capable, but it just came down to whether or not we could get those experiences that we needed and how they would react to those experiences and they just did a tremendous job,鈥� Applebee said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say enough good things about our seniors. They really led us this year.鈥�
One of the team鈥檚 most important seniors actually has very little football experience compared to most players his age. Running back Reice Kennedy didn鈥檛 even begin playing until his junior year and was still learning his position and the game coming into this season, but Applebee said Kennedy dedicated himself to the weight room last spring and became bigger, faster and stronger by the time summer arrived. His work paid off in the fall as he rushed for 1,412 yards and a team-high 15 touchdowns.聽
鈥淭he improvement he showed every single day was just tremendous,鈥� Applebee said. 鈥淭he improvement he made is indescribable. The fact that he was able to have the season he had just says a lot about him and his character and his work ethic. I couldn鈥檛 be more proud of him.鈥�
With Kennedy solidifying the lead back role, junior Hayden Jay led the offense as a dual-threat quarterback, filling the void left by the graduated Cooper Marsh, who threw for 1,852 yards and 19 TDs and rushed for 687 yards and 16 TDs last year. Jay surpassed Marsh鈥檚 production as a passer this season, throwing for 2,343 yards and 27 touchdowns while also rushing for 449 yards and 10 TDs. And just as importantly, Jay kept things under control for Mill Valley鈥檚 offense
鈥淲hat he did this year really well was he managed everything that we wanted to do schematically so well in games,鈥� Applebee said. 鈥淗e had a thousand decisions to make every game and I thought for the most part he did a great job of making good decisions and making sure that we were holding onto the ball and being efficient with our run and pass game.鈥�
Along with Jay, the Jaguars will return four of their five offensive linemen and their second-leading rusher, sophomore Tristan Baker (562 yards, 9 TDs), next season. They鈥檒l also bring back nine starters on defense, which should set Mill Valley up for more sustained success. But while winning a fourth straight state title might be within reach come next November for the Jaguars, they know that getting there again won鈥檛 be easy. It never is 鈥� even for a program as successful as Mill Valley.
鈥淓ach season is new and each team is new and different,鈥� Applebee said. 鈥淥ne thing I know our kids understand is it isn鈥檛 easy to do. It鈥檚 very hard to do. It takes a lot of work and it takes a lot of commitment. But I feel like our coaching staff is very committed, our kids are very committed so we鈥檙e going to do our best to just show up and start the whole process over. Let’s see how much we can improve before November and see what happens.鈥�
